I Love, I Hate
by Nillek
Summary: Two friends talk all night as one tries to contemplate on how to handle the biggest betrayl he has ever dealt with while the other tries to simply keep him sane. DEAD
1. Hate

I don't own Sonic or anything. I don't see why I continue to write this.

I Love, I Hate

Part One:

Hate

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"I hate her."

"You don't mean that man."

"I do. I FREAKINGhate her."

It was the middle of the night as the two friends were seated in a quiet apartment. The sky was pitch black with a lack of stars, giving the night itself an ominous feeling that seemed to block out the peace that typically came with nightfall. It was already the worst night of his life and the darkness did nothing to help it.

"I can't believe I wasted my time with her." He muttered to himself as he took another drink from his cup" I knew this could happen, but I didn't care."

"It's not that bad," His friend said in an encouraging manner as his reptilian tail slowly flowed through the air" it was just a kiss."

"A kiss is all that I SAW!" He snapped as he glared at his friend in a threatening way.

"Just because it was all that you saw doesn't mean there was more!" The friend said as he waved for him to calm down, which he did, though still had an angered look on his face.

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After a few minutes of silence between the two he finally muttered, "Why would she do that?" getting a look of confusion and sadness on his face this time instead of anger.

"Well," His friend replied as he twirled his empty cup around" she did like him before she even MET you."

"HIM." He said in a slightly lower and louder voice, bringing his friends attention back to him" I should of known this would happen if they continued to hang out together. I thought he was my friend……"

"He is," His friend said with an unusually sincere smile, something he rarely gave" just like I'm your friend."

"………..If he's a friend just like YOU I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner." He retorted with a slight edge in his voice, to which his friend laughed off.

This was true though. Neither of them were very good friends, often having short arguments over the most insignificant things, on occasion escalating to small brawls even. To be honest they only associated with each other because they were close friends with same three people, so everyone considered them to close as well though they could both barely stand the other. However, when it really came down to it and no one else was available they would both help the other in any way, usually when it was the only option left.

This was one of the times when there were no other options.

"Don't take it out on me," The friend said as he stuffed some crackers into his mouth" I'm not the 'pal' who sucked your girls face."

"But it doesn't make sense!" He yelled as he slammed his fist on the table, nearly breaking it in half" I thought he didn't like her?"

"Maybe he changed his mind. People can do that."

"But why didn't he go with the other girl who liked him? Why didn't he steal her away from that little two-tailed THING?"

His friend thought for a moment then replied" Though it would have made you feel better it wouldn't be fair to TAILS." He made sure to put an emphasis on the name, reminding his friend the 'thing' didn't like being referred to as that.

"Since when do you care about how other people feel?"

"Since I have to play the good guy side of your conscience." His friend said in a smart way.

"Whatever….." He muttered, feeling like he wanted to roll into his shell and stay like that for days" He could have any girl he wants and he has to take mine. Why would he……THEY, do that?"

"I don't know." His friend said as he glanced around for something to drink, his throat suddenly feeling parched from all the talking.

"Why did this have to happen? Why to me of all people, just when I was the happiest man in the world?"

"Stuff like this just happens. You have to accept it, deal with both of them and move on."

Suddenly something snapped in him. He was getting tired of his friend making sense with everything he said. He was tired of not being able to feel angry about what happened to him. He was tired of not being able to HATE either of them. He wanted to curse at them, he wanted to hit them, he wanted to put them through as much pain as they had put him through. He didn't just want it anymore.

He knew he was going to get it.

He threw an enraged glare at his friend as he shot out of his seat, this one filled with so much anger and so sudden that it made his friend nearly fall out of his seat, shocked that he looked as if he was going to beat him to death.

"This stuff happens when a guy is stupid enough to fall in love with some WHORE and be friends with a backstabbing TRAITOR!" He shouted in an uncharacteristically angry tone for his personality as a look of blind fury filled his eyes.

Normally he was a kind, even tempered man who let little ever get to him. Despite the idiotic antics and rude comments he received from his friends he never once let his anger get the best of him. It always seemed that he had another shell in addition to the one he wore on his back, an invisible one that seemed to block all negative emotions from taking him over. Unless someone he cared for, or just about ANYBODY, was being tortured or beaten in front of him he would never let his anger become evident.

This was why his sudden outburst shocked his friend so much. He had never seen him get so angry at anything for as long as he had known him.

"Calm down!" His purple skinned friend said as he tried with all his strength to hold him back as he stomped towards the door, cursing in an extremely loud voice " If you get too angry you might go find either of them and do something you'll regret!"

"I should!" He yelled as he threw his friend to the ground and stomped over to the door, not caring in the slightest that he could have seriously hurt him with his phenomenal strength" I should go right to either of their houses and show them to NEVER mess with me!"

"Don't!" His friend said as he painfully pulled himself up, readying to grab one of his shurikens and use them if necessary.

"WHY?" He yelled, stopping in the doorway to hear whatever stupid thing his friend had to say.

"Because you are too much of LOVESICK PUNK to do anything to her and too much of a GOOD GUY to hurt him!"

His body suddenly went stiff at this realization. He wasn't really as surprised about his own feelings as he was that his friend had used the word 'love'. As long as he had known his friend he had never been one to believe in something like love, having decided a long time ago that he only wanted women for sex and child birth, no love on his part involved. The fact that he even used the word love was a shock, as he normally refused to use it in any way.

All of this was enough to calm him down to the point where he could sit back down at the table and continue to drink, though still managed to make another curse about "her" under his breath.

"I still hate her."

His friend let out one of his usual bad boy sighs, groaned and walked back over to his chair with a slight limp from being thrown to the ground, though was confident that it would be gone in awhile, no wanting to admit to his friend how strong he was.

"I'll be able to convince you otherwise. We still have the whole night left."

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To Be Continued

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……….Yo. New story up. This is gonna be a short one, I'm planning about two or three other ones. Kind of different from the usual stupid, crazy, funny crap I write isn't it? I might end up deleting some of my other work or just stop writing them since most of them are pretty long term things and I want to start writing short stories now. They save on time you know?... I'll have the details of what I'm going to be doing up later. Right now I need sleep. I'm out.


	2. Loathing

I Love, I Hate

Part Two:

Loathing

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"Why did you bring me here?"

"I thought looking at something besides your dark apartment would fix your mood."

"A stupid river?"

"Best I could think of, plus its close."

"Stupid…"

He didn't want to admit it, but the slowly flowing water of the river did help him to calm down. After his brief descent into rage his friend convinced him to leave his place for awhile, hoping that a walk might make him think more clearly. He thought his friend had a bar or strip club in mind and was slightly depressed, since it was the kind of thing he'd normally do on most occasions. He was hoping that his friend would take him to find another girl, if even for a one night stand, but tonight that would not be.

Nothing tonight but pointless talking.

GREAT.

He pushed himself from off of the small fence that separated the river bank from the picnic area and looked around the park. It was a little after one in the morning and the normally green setting of the park was shrouded in shadowy darkness, the only light coming from the lamps place along the walkway to guide late-night runners. There was no sound other than the wind rustling the leaves on trees and the low breathing of him and his friend. It was very different from the normally loud and energy filled environment it was during the day.

Considering what had happened, he much preferred it this way.

"What you thinking ugly?" His friend asked, reminding him of his presence.

"Nothing, dimwit……." He muttered back as he looked to the river again" Just about how much I can't stand her."

"Whatever," His friend replied as he wandered over to a nearby picnic table" you still kiss the freaking ground she walks on."

He looked at his friend with a glint of exasperation in his eye which quickly left as he sighed and followed him.

"You're saying it as if I DID kiss the freaking ground."

"You DID, cause she was the first girl you ever got serious with." His friend said as he sat on the table and pulled out a candy bar he must have taken from the apartment before they left.

He looked down at his feet as he thought to himself. It's true, she WAS the first girl to ever really fall for him, but what did it matter now? She was busy making time with his supposed friend, the freaking 'hero' of the city. He frowned at this prospect, knowing he couldn't really compete with a hero, so why even bother. Throwing these thoughts to the wind he sat on the table with his friend and looked back to the serene river.

"Quit reminding me of her. She's gone."

"Gone? She lives ten freaking minutes away from you!"

"That's not the point!" He shouted, tired of having thoughts of her rule his conscious" No more talking about her!"

"Fine………" His friend replied as he turned his back to him, opting to look into the large grove of trees as he ate his candy.

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What seemed to be hours past as he stared out at the river, not wanting anything to remind him of her or his 'friend' or their kiss. He simply wanted to be left alone to his thoughts, where he knew no conversation about what had happened would be started by some nosy fool. He counted his blessings that he only had his purple friend to deal with now, as right after he caught them just about everyone he knew was trying to talk to him about it. Unfortunately, everyone seemed to have a different take on it.

The big green fool had told him to take the traitor out back and lay into him, if he could catch him that is.

The little pest called him a punk for just staring at them and then storming out.

His best friend tried to give him some advice, even though the gliding freak had an even worse relationship with that orange echidna he drooled over.

Red didn't really know what to tell him, just saying he was thankful that he found someone for himself, though she seemed to be a bit of a whore in everyone's opinions.

The duck, bear and rat just plain out laughed at him, taking so much enjoyment out of his suffering.

The rabbit only told him she knew it was doomed from the start and the cat had the nerve to try to hook him up almost an hour after it happened.

The dark hedgehog didn't have much to say, just complaining that he was lucky enough to have his girl 'alive'.

The only person that gave him a decent response was the small rabbit who hugged him, even though she didn't know what was going on.

He was kind of surprised that his friend hadn't insulted or given him stupid advice and that he had decided to stay with him all night to help him figure it all out. He figured he had done it to just mock him over a longer period of time than the others but was shocked that he had been completely sincere the whole time.

There's a first for everything, he figured.

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"……Hey, man."

"Yeah?"

"Remember that time we fighting and you pulled out on of those big shurikens to try and throw at me?"

"I remember that………….I flung it right at your head and you caught it between your hands."

"Then I shouted something like 'Take this you ninja freak!' and threw it right back at you and you dodged."

"Yeah and it went right at Charmy and struck him in the head!"

"Thank god he wears that damn helmet!"

"Yeah."

The two sighed as the glanced around, their moods slightly elevated at the thought of the past exploits they enjoyed with their friends. The two both turned to look at the river, neither wanting to look at the other or think about any of the bad business going on. All that concerned them for a brief moment was the calming reflection of the moon.

"………So I take it that you're not as angry anymore."

"Yeah………..But I still can't stand her."

"We'll see man. We'll see."

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To Be Continued

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Yo. Kind of rambled in this chapter though I think it's still good. Just to let you know I'm purposely not stating who the main guy, his friend, the girl and the betrayer are. To be honest you can interpret them however you want though they are supposed to be specific characters. Their identities will become apparent by the end of it.


	3. Confusion

I Love, I Hate

Part Three:

Confusion

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"I don't what to think anymore."

"That's a good sign."

"I mean, I want to hate them, but I don't feel like hating them. I want to forgive them too, but I feel I can't do that."

"Hmmm…."

"I mean, the only thing I know is that I'm confused."

He looked to the ground as he and his friend sat on a bench next to a basketball court, a tall chain link fence at their backs, between them and the desolate city street. They had left the park a few minutes after they finished reminiscing about days past and gotten enough of the river, as it had made his friend start to feel seasick. He had no idea why he had been brought to the basketball courts, though he figured there was some underlying importance to it so he didn't really mind.

He glanced over at his friend and began to wonder if he was really trying to help him, as most of the information he had given him didn't do much but make him unsure of whether to fall into a deep depression or go crazy with rage.

His friend didn't seem to be paying attention to him since he was busy staring up at the stars in the sky, seemingly out of sync with reality as he muttered things only he would understand under his breath.

Noticing the stars in the sky himself he looked at his watch and was surprised to see that it was fifteen to three in the morning, realizing that they must have spent more time at the park than they first thought. He also found it odd that there were stars out, as the sky had seemed to be as black as the night earlier.

Not that he was too concerned over this however, as he turned to his friend with a slight frown on his face.

"Why did you bring me HERE, now? We didn't bring a basketball, so what's the point?"

His friend turned to him with a blank look in his eyes, in a way that gave off a "you're a complete idiot" kind of vibe.

"You can't seriously tell me that you don't remember this place."

He quietly nodded his head in a dumb manner.

His friend simply sighed and put his hand to his forehead, shaking it as he spoke.

"Maybe it IS best that you forget about her and just be single."

"What is THAT supposed to mean?" He replied with a slight bit of anger in his voice.

"This is where we played basketball before you met her." His friend dryly said as he looked him right in the eyes" You, me and the guys. We hung out here all the time back then."

He quickly looked around the court and suddenly realized that it was indeed where they spent all their afternoons long ago. The five of them would always go somewhere or do something before and after, but they always found time to have a quick game every day. Unless it was raining or snowing they would all make sure they were there at the same time, even despite their many different hobbies and interest.

He was a little disappointed in himself as well, as this was also the place she would come to meet him at too.

He wasn't sure how, but eventually they all stopped coming there for some reason. He couldn't remember why, but he had the nagging feeling that his relationship with her may have had something to do with their eventual migration from the court.

"Her…….." He muttered to himself as he looked back to the ground, too depressed to talk to his friend at the moment.

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For some reason he found himself thinking about her again. He had seen her many times he hung out with his other friends, though they rarely ever spoke or actually focused their thoughts on the other. She was pretty and kind, the type of girl most guys go after these days. Though he had thought she was attractive he never bothered to make a move on her since he was fairly sure she was involved with one of the others and didn't want to start any unnecessary drama. He wasn't sure if it was cowardly or not to keep these feelings to himself, but he figured it was best for both of them, plus his friends would have mocked the hell out of him.

Then there was that one day.

He was walking to the basketball court as he did every afternoon, nothing really different from the hundreds of times he had done it before. When he was within a block of the court he noticed someone crying on the bench of a bus stop on the other side of the street. People crying by themselves are fairly common in any city so normally he would have paid no attention to it on gone on his way. However he noticed something about the person that made him stop in his tracks.

It was her of all people.

At first he wasn't sure of what to do. Though he knew her they weren't familiar enough for him to just walk up to her in a moment such as this. He barely knew anything about her and vice-versa, so why would either of them just come out of nowhere and console the other like this? He was almost tempted to just walk away and leave her there, though something else happened that stopped him again.

She looked up and stared right at him.

He stood painfully still as he looked at her, as she did as well, even though tears were still falling from her eyes. He began sweating profusely, wondering why she would just stare at him like that and what she expected him to do. Situations like this were not his forte and that fact that it was the girl he liked did nothing to help this.

As he motioned as if he would continue on his way and ignore her, she suddenly burst back into tears with a painful look on her face and looked to the ground. Leaving his feelings of insecurity behind he quickly walked across the street and stood in front of her, still unsure of what to do. Her crying died down as she looked up into his eyes and both were completely silent, neither wanting to drive away the other with a single wrong word.

After a few minutes of silence she nervously asked how he was doing, though this was a question he should have been asking her. He replied that he was fine and asked her the same question, hoping to get a response. She started to cry again and asked why anyone would care about how she felt, as the person who mattered most to her didn't. Though he took a mental note of this he replied that he did care and would gladly listen to whatever her problem was.

Then she stopped crying, smiled and hugged him, much to his obvious surprise.

She talked to him for awhile until he remembered he had to go to the basketball court to see his friends. He told her to go home and spend some time by herself for a few days. He started to leave, but stopped when he realized she had gotten up from the bench. He turned to her and asked what she needed. She nervously looked to her feet with a shy smile on her face as she sniffed to hold back a few tears.

"C-could I go to t-the c-court with y-you?"

He was taken back by her question, but eventually agreed and went there with her. His friends were ready to yell at him for being so late, though after they noticed her they went quiet, started to snicker and only told him to call if he was going to be late again. For the rest of the time they spent at the court she watched him as he played ball with his friends, never letting out the smallest tear or giving of the slightest sniffle. She just smiled, stayed quiet and watched them play.

After it was all done he walked her back home, the two talking the whole way there. When he got her home he reminded her to spend the next few days to herself and to not bother with the other guy. As he turned to leave she suddenly grabbed his arm and tried to keep him from leaving. He turned around to ask her what was wrong, wondering what else there could be.

Then she kissed him on the cheek and closed the door.

He thought about her the rest of the day and all night and could have sworn he had a dream about her as well. He figured he wouldn't see her for awhile and didn't think the kiss was of any real importance, just a thank you for his helping her. He walked his usual route to the court as he thought of these things, figuring she had no real interest in him at all. When he realized he was within a block of the court he instinctively looked to the bus stop she had been at, thinking about the previous day.

And there she was, looking as if she was waiting for someone, kicking her feet as if she hadn't a care in the world. He was surprised, but figured that she was simply waiting for the bus this time. He was proved wrong as she noticed him and rushed across the street with a happy smile on her face, the one he would remember for the rest of his life.

From then on she would always wait for him at that same bus stop, talk to him as they walked to the basketball court and watch as he played basketball with his friends. They would then spend the rest of day together, though they never acknowledged themselves as being in any kind of relationship. When they officially started dating she would skip the bus stop and go to his apartment so they could spend all the time traveling to the court talking.

It was one of the happiest times of his life, something he would never forget.

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"But it's all over…….." He muttered as he looked back up from the ground, his face suddenly turning to a near blank slate as he looked up to the sky" Those days are gone."

"You mean those days of just you and her," His friend asked as he stretched his legs, tired from just sitting there so long" or of all of us?"

He ignored his friends question, quietly standing up as he looked to the basketball hoop that they had dunked so many balls into. He remembered all the time he had spent laughing with them, all the time he had spent talking with her and all the happiness it gave them all. But he knew it was over. The relationship, the court, and the happy time they all spent together. It had been over for awhile before what she did, but only just realized it now.

"Thanks……." He muttered as he continued to look at the hoop, his face hidden from his by the darkness of the night" For bringing me back here…….."

"No problem……" His friend quietly replied as he got up as well, pulling out a cigarette" You ready to go?"

"…………..Could I have a moment alone?" He asked in near inaudible voice, still not turning to his friend.

"Sure…….." His friend muttered as he turned to leave, though froze as he looked up at the sky. Turning to him his friend said" Did you see that?"

"…..Yes…….." He said, still looking to the hoop.

His friend didn't say anything and wandered off, though made sure to stay near enough to know if he was ready to leave.

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He stood there by himself, perfectly still as he kept his eyes centered on the basketball hoop. He turned away from it and glanced around the court, eventually noticing something that caught his eye. He looked to the bench he and his friend had just been sitting at and put his hand to his head. He just stared at the bench as a small smile started to form on his face.

That was the bench she would always sit on when she watched him and he had sat in the spot she always sat in.

"This is too much…….." He muttered to himself as he looked from the bench to the sky, where a bright moon he had never previously noticed sat, illuminating the whole court and all the buildings around it." Too confusing….." He muttered again as he tried his best to smiled at it all.

He couldn't remember the last time he had cried.

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To Be Continued

Yo. Another new chapter. This one went over the girl, so the next one might go over the traitor. Not sure. I like this one better than the last one, probably because its longer.

You might think you know who the girl is, but you should know that who she is doesn't really matter. There are two, maybe three girls in the Sonic Universe that fit the image I've given, though one of them is for certain the girl. If you read my other stories you might be able to figure out who she is, but it's not that important.

What I'm saying is view her as whoever you like, but there is one girl who she truly IS supposed to be. I won't ever reveal it directly in the story, the same for the guy and the traitor though the friend is pretty obvious.

I'm out.

Nillek


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